I was the type of person who never thought I’d end up with anybody. And I wasn’t cynical about it, because I never wanted to be with anyone. I was happy with just me, my mom and my little brother Moe.

My name’s Artemis Jay Jones, but people just call me Jay, and don’t let my last name fool you, I’m half Mexican from my moms side, and on my dads side I’m a mix of Irish, and Portuguese Pacific Islander. And no, I don’t know Spanish, but my mom can understand it, but she can’t speak it. My dad died when I was 3, so I never knew him, and I don’t know my family on my father's side, they couldn’t accept having half Mexicans in their family, but that’s fine.

Anyways, I had just completed 2 Year’s at Santa Barbara City College and was transferring to Humboldt University, and I’m 21 years old. Transferring is a big deal for me, not only am leaving my 19 year old brother. But I’m leaving my Mom, who I am hopelessly dependent on emotionally. My mom is a beautiful 54 year old American- Mexican women with curly brown hair with hints of gray, and brown eyes, and light tan skin. She dresses in a working feminine way, she works at a clothing business in clerical management.

Even though I’m majoring in Sociology I already have a career, I’m a author and I’m currently working on my 4th book of my second book series it’s about how earth is actually a giant zoo. Beside the 2 book series's that I've done, I've written 3 other books. I had always thought about writing, but never had the guts to actually do it, but I was tired of leeching off my mom. It’s actually pretty pathetic how nervous I was to actually start writing. I’ve always been horribly terrified to work a job, and I just hated the feeling of being stuck. So I just tried it out and here I am today. A pretty successful author, and I can now help my mom out financially, which I’m really happy to be able to do. I have light brown hair that’s thick and curly, like my mom’s hair, my hair goes down to my mid back area. I have light brown eyes and tanned skin, that gets easily darker the more I stay outside, I also run for fun, I ran cross-country, and track and field- long distance in High School, which really helped my communication skills, and got me to care less about what other people thought. My High School life was pretty good, I lived in a small town called, Capinteria, and went to their High School, I wasn’t bullied, and they weren’t really any bullies that I can remember. I was one of those kids everyone saw as smart, even though I just did my homework and did either bad, or moderate at my tests, rarely got A’s on tests, but never got C’s on report cards. I had a lot of friends and acquaintances, but I didn’t hang out with anyone outside of school, except rarely maybe once a school year. I didn’t feel a need to hang out with anyone except my mom and Moe, who’s the exact opposite of me, where I’m a major introvert he’s a major extrovert. He has dark brown curly hair that goes down to his cheeks, and dark brown eyes, he’s 5’8, and I’m 5’6. I’m great at one on one conversations, but he’s great at group conversations he’s a social butterfly, he likes to go to parties, he went to all his school dances where I went to none. He’s very protective of me, like I am of him. I’m an extremely mellow person, I’ve even been asked by acquaintances if I could sell them pot, I’m so mellow. I’ve only been asked a few times but it still sucks, I’ve never done drugs or smoked, and drank. Anyways so it’s really hard to make me mad.

Once me and Moe were at a park, he was 5 and I was 9, a group of 12 year old boys pushed him off his swing, and he started crying, I ran from the water fountain I was at and got in a fight with the 3, 12 year old's. I punch the first one right in the eye, which he then clutches and falls to his knees, the second runs at me yelling, “ you little brat, how dare you,” with his fists in the air, I hop up at the last minute with my legs to my chest, and slam my feet in his stomach sending him, falling back, the third, kicks my stomach when I’m down, but I grab his foot, when he tries a second time, twist it until he falls, then I quickly stand up and kick him in the stomach, and carry my brother and run, like crazy until we get home. I was exhausted physically and emotionally, I don’t know why but, when I get super mad, or sad, I get really tired afterwards. I told my mom what happened, she was surprised, because again I rarely get mad, but she was proud that her daughter could stand up for herself and little brother. She always told me, “to never start a fight, but to end them!” My brother said, I was awesome, and our bond got stronger after that.

A time my brother defended me was when I was walking home and I was a block away, my brother was in front of our house with a friend of his, Moe saw me and started to wave, but then stopped himself, and got this pissed off look on his face. Apparently a man behind me stopped walking across the sidewalk and was staring at me, and got out his phone and started taking pictures, my brother ran passed me and chased the guy for 8 blocks, beat him up a bit, got his phone, and deleted the pictures of me. Moe is starting his second year at UCSB, and majoring in Computer Programming. So after I moved into my singles dorm, and saying goodbye to Moe and my mom. I went to my academic counselor, she’s a woman in her mid forties, with blond/white hair in a bun, plain pink lipstick, green eyes, and medium build. Mrs. Olive, who tells me that freshman have to do 200 hours of community service, which I didn’t know about.

“Because you didn’t properly look at the requirements all freshman, have to do, your getting the last picks of community service,” she says this all while looking at me like I committed some type of treason through her old fashioned glasses. And my cheeks turned pink from the embarrassment of not being prepared.

She gives me the list of still available services,” thank you, Mrs. Olives, sorry I didn’t prepare better,” I say.

In the list all I see is helping out at kindergartens, or the community pools, or elementary school sports, and High School for the Performing Arts library.

Toddlers are cute, but I already did community service watching 3-4 year old's for 2 summers for my High School community service and it was so draining, so helping out at the kindergarten is out, and I don’t think I’ll be good as a coach, and I don’t want to deal with kids going to the bathroom in the pool, or yelling constantly to, walk not run. And I like books, so I’m going with the library community service.

“I’ll do the Community Service at the Humboldt High School of Performing Arts, Mrs. Oliver, “ I say.

“Okay, great go to the Academy tomorrow after your first day of College classes are over, you’ll have to figure out your times with the librarian. Hears the shirts, you’ll have to wear, when doing your community service.” Mrs. Oliver say’s.

I smile politely, thank her for helping me out, then leave. I get back to my dorm, that’s rectangular shaped, first entering, is a mat to take off my shoes, and coat rack, on the left. Passed that and still on the left is my small but fully equipped bathroom, with a toilet straight ahead, and a shower on the right, and sink on the left, with a cabinet on the top and bottom of it, with the cabinet door on the top being the mirror. From my entrance to the right is a very small, but handy closet, that I can put towels, and such inside. The door after my bathroom is my kitchen door, on the right is cabinets on the bottom and top, and in between is a view of my living/bedroom, on the right is my fridge, and more counter space, and again cabinets on the top and bottom. On the counter is my microwave, and beside it is my toaster oven. Passing the closet, kitchen, and bathroom, straight ahead you see the wall, that is pretty much 3'ft of wall on the bottom, and the rest is window, I’m also on the 4th floor, I have a nice view of trees. To the right of my window is my singles bed, up against the wall, length side. And on the left is a small leather dark brown love seat, with flip up leg rests. And a small flat screen. And facing my left wall, to the left of my couch, and t.v., is my desk, and chair, and laptop. And a few of my painting’s here and there on the walls, including a poster of an anime studio’s logo called Ghibli.

I already ate an early dinner, with my mom and Moe, so I just go out on campus and look where my classes are going to be tomorrow.

Sociology is basically the study of society, and human interactions within them. I’m taking four classes, SOC 316 Gender & Society- Mon & Weds 8:00am-10:00am, SOC 320 Environmental Sociology- Mon & Weds 10:30am-12:05pm, SOC 305 Modern World Systems Tues & Thurs 8:30am-10:00am, and Art 132 Tues & Thurs 10:45am-12:50pm. Since I grew up in a small town, and went to small schools where everyone knew each other, community college, and now Humboldt University, amaze me in how everyone is so different. I never liked being noticed, and feeling the pressures of having to say, ‘hi,’ to someone you know. In my High School, there was still the popular crowd, but it didn’t have an aura of dominance, because everyone knew everyone, you likely knew someone in the popular crowd, and they would say ‘hi’, it wasn’t hidden, or something to be ashamed of. Yes, we still had the lines, but the lines were wobbly, and hard to see.

And at community college, I saw a clear football jock, at a table with a hippy chick, another big guy, a handsome guy, a pretty girl, and a boy wearing nail polish, and I just thought that was so cool. I know I just stereotyped everyone, and that the cover really doesn’t always match the inside, but purely based on how they looked it was really intriguing, new, and different in a good way to see. I know not everyone is accepting, of people who break stereotypes, and “social norms” whatever that means, but seeing how open and different most people were on campus was really cool to me.

So after figuring out where my classes are, I head back to my dorm and I spend the rest of my freedom, watching anime. And no anime isn’t just for dudes, it's not kid cartoons, and successful people can love anime, and still have a life, don’t categorize people who love anime using me as a symbol, there are plenty of better accomplished people, who may or may not be extroverts, and love anime. Since, class starts tomorrow, I go to bed at 10:40pm, and set my alarm for 6:45am, I know this is early, but my class starts at 8 and I hate rushing. 

The Next Day

I wake up, when I hear my alarm go off, and get dressed in a simple light blue t-shirt with a pine cone symbol, on the upper left, that’s loose fitting, and some slightly loose, dark blue/blackish jeans, and some comfortable gray and blue nike shoes. I mangle my curly mess of hair into a neat ponytail, and eats some cheerios. I don’t wear makeup, it's not my thing, but it's cool for other people to wear, I don’t care. I have a small blue circle stud on the helix of my left ear, and on the upper lobe I have a black thick-ish square hoop earring, and a silver circle stud on the bottom lobe, and for my other ear the same thing for the lobes, but for my helix, I have a small thin silver hoop earring. After my two bowls of cheerios, hey I have a appetite, I do run after all. I brush my teeth, chill around my room for a bit, and then by 7:40am, I head off to my first class. The rooms shaped like a small movie theater, I sit in the third row from the back and class begins.

Skipping to after my second class, I google maps, where the Humboldt High School of Performing Arts is, and after eating a mint clif bar, crackers, and carrots, and changing into my community service shirt that's green, and says Humboldt University on the back in dark yellow, I drive over to the school. I’m a little nervous when I start heading over to the office, it's like I can feel my slightly more awkward and nervous, first semester freshman self from high school coming back to haunt me. The building looks pretty cool, I have to admit. It’s a 3 story building that's shaped like a boxed ‘U’, and then on the right side of the building is a ‘L’ shaped building, and on the left is a ‘rectangular shaped building, and both are 2 stories. All 3 buildings are made of concrete bricks, are huge, and renaissance themed. When you go inside the main building the floors are a glossy dark hardwood, and are impeccably clean. The walls are also covered in beautiful hardwood panels, with old fashioned paintings that are either landscapes, still lifes or portraits. Some of the still life portraits are of ballet dancers, musicians, and of painters painting, they’re all beautiful.

As I’m a few doors down from the office I notice a colored portrait of the most beautiful girl I’d ever seen, she appears to be a mix of african american, and white, she has beautiful long auburn curly hair that’s splayed out because, she’s in the air doing the sissonne ballet pose. I only know she’s doing sissonne, because it says the type of pose she's doing in a plaque below the portrait. I can slightly see that she has beautiful really dark brown freckles below her eyes, and on her cheeks, and nose, I can also see she tried to hide them with concealer. And she has beautiful light pale blue eyes, and skin a few shades darker than mine, I’ve never found anyone as breathtaking as I find her. She’s in a long reddish lavender sheer flowy dress, and she’s looking in the air, she looks so peaceful, and in control. She seems to have an air about her, that just demands attention, yes her eyes look peaceful, but also calculative. She’s probably a very smart and calculative person, and doesn’t easily follow others, she appears to be an elegant but fierce leader. After awkwardly staring in amazement a bit longer I continue my little journey.

I make my way into the main office a little nervously, but thanks to my mellow personality, and facial expressions it's rarely detected by strangers. I tell the kind eyed male middle aged secretary what I’m doing here, and he kindly walks me to the library that's a few halls over.

The librarian is a white man in his early forties dark brown eyes, his personality contradicts with how he looks, he appears to be 6’5’, has muscle, a scruffy beard, with a couple of indecipherable hand tattoos. But his personality is like a kind studios uncle, he’s kind of a breath of fresh air, I always think it's neat when people’s personalities contradict how people would think they would act based on their appearance. His name is Owen Bennett, I tell him my schedule, and we agree for me to arrive here by 1:30pm, and leave by 5:00pm mon-thurs, and on friday 9:00am- 5:00pm, I want to finish my community service by the end of my second semester at Humboldt University so I can focus on my classes and writing, and if everything works out with my schedule next semester I will.